“The Tears of Music and Love” kicks off Deerhoof’s latest full-length Offend Maggie like the Rolling Stones being force-fed into a blender. When the sedate vocals of Satomi Matsuzaki pipe up you know your in Deerhoof territory. Equally characteristic is Greg Saunier’s frantic powerhouse drumming. Relying on a drumset that contains only a kick drum, a snare and a handful of cymbals Saunier coaxes infinite nuance and patterns out of minimal ingredients. This coupled with the outstanding production of Ian and Joe Pellicci at Tiny Telephone Studios in San Francisco makes for a listen that is at once jarring and beautiful.
None of this would come as a surprise to a seasoned Deerhoof fan. The band has been combining Who-like guitar assaults with mathematical drumming and Dadaist lyrics for over ten years, typically knocking out a record a year. What makes Offend Maggie special is just how beautiful they made their post-modern blend this time around. The title track is easily the most gorgeous tune the group has written to date. The acoustic guitar overlaps arpeggios with the electric, sounding like rock music from the far East.
Heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics would be an easy fit to such emotive sounds. But, that just wouldn’t be Deerhoof. Matsuzaki colors Offend…with her playful surrealism; “Do you know me, calling your number? Do I know you? Don’t call this number.” There is an obvious interest in human connection there, but songs like “Basketball Get Your Groove Back” don’t offer a whole lot of signposts. Instead Matsuzaki just irritatingly repeats “Basketball, basketball, bounce. Bunny jump, bunny jump.” You might think it comes from an outsider’s grasp on the English language (Matsuzaki moved over from Japan in the mid 90’s). But then again, Deerhoof has never appeared to be weird on accident. These guys are smart.
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